from ars ludi
DM: “You see a few white, eyeless fish, and various stone formations in a pool of water about 4′ to 6′ deep and about 10′ long. That’s all. Do you wish to leave the place now?”
Player 1: “Yes, let’s get out of here and go someplace where we can find something interesting.”
Player 2: “Wait! If those fish are just blind cave types, ignore them, but what about the stone formations? Are any of them notable? If so I think we should check them out.”
– Dungeon Master’s Guide, 1979
Here’s a Generation Gap moment for some of you: old-school D&D did not have a Spot check.
There were no rules to determine if you saw something, or heard something, or smelled something, or whatever. There were rules for surprise, rules for listening at doors (but only doors) and there were rules for finding a secret door (”tie the elf to a stick and wave him around!”), but a generic Spot check did not exist (or Search check, or Listen check, or Notice check or whatever).
Wow, you think, things are so much better now in this modern world! Now I have an accurate way of determining whether a character notices something or not. Now I can give them fair unbiased information about the world around them with a simple die roll!
How did those primitive gamers survive, you ask? Simple: players listened to the GM’s description of the game world. Then they asked questions. Then the GM (ahem, DM) told them the results.
Rolling dice is not supposed to replace your brain. Making Spot checks all the time is just a lame way of saying “well, you haven’t asked anything that would really tell me if you would notice this or not, so we’ll just roll and let the dice decide.”
And if the information you may or may not notice is pertinent to the plot, it is asinine-by-design to decide whether to reveal it with a die roll. Scene from a GM lynching: “well if you had rolled better you would have seen that the tribe had red banners instead of black and that whole game would have probably made more sense to you, but hey, you failed your Spot check…”
One Roll to Rule Them All…
Why am I picking on the poor Spot check? Partially because I’m a big bully, but mostly because it’s a good example of a bad trend.
It’s not surprising that as a game evolves, people expand the rules to cover more and more cases. Do we have rules for car chases? No? Better add some. Even if it’s just a question of applying a core mechanic where it has not been applied before, its logical to want to be able resolve more and more situations with dice.
The trick is that dice are supposed to improve the game, not replace the gamer. What’s the final outgrowth of resolving more and more things with dice instead of brains? The one-roll adventure: if you make the roll you win! Game over. No player decision making needed.
What are dice supposed to do? They’re supposed to resolve things that cannot be resolved in the polite confines of a kitchen table or in the physics of our world. Does my car explode when I crash into that tanker truck? Does my broadsword cut off that dragon’s head? Does my magic spell levitate the castle?
If it’s something you can do at the table, you should do it, not roll for it. Unless it’s boring. Or rude.
Your character is your representative in the game world, not your replacement. Tell your character what to do. Ask the GM questions. Explore the environment. Think, play, etc.
Here’s the challenge: if it’s not a combat situation or about to become one (aka checking for surprise or attacks at unawares), don’t use Spot checks. At all. None. Zero. Let players describe what they look for or how they are behaving and just arbitrarily decide what they see or don’t see.
Once your players get the gist of it, see if they become more inquisitive, interactive and basically just play more instead of falling back on the Spot check crutch.
Fighter using a dead hollowed-out goblin as a bag to hold his magic biscuits?
Wizard hurling bottles of poop and eggs instead of fireballs?
Frenzied berzerker being slowly and agonizingly drowned by a giant clam?
Time for a Madness Check.
Kill The Prince!
The proposal: Some dude in charge needs to be croaked. Damn the man! Fight the power!
The twist: Set it up so that when they go to gank him. a couple of things could happen.
1) They kill the prince disturbingly easily. Only to go to court and find him there and smiling. He seems to have no interest in discussing things nor is he interested in killing the characters. That'll bake their noodles good and proper as they try to figure out what the fuck is going on.
2) They kill the prince only to have the city completely fall apart because of the way the prince put the place together. City infrastructure flies to pieces and each week therafter some vampire or other flips out in some pre-programmed fashion. Drawback: there's...no happy ending here. Since they killed him, there's no way to really fix things unless they can somehow get him raised/resurrected.
3) They get there only to dscover that he's already been destroyed (Possibly faked) and that the local law enforcement shows up just in time to catch the Would-Be Perps. A masterful frame job.
The twist: Set it up so that when they go to gank him. a couple of things could happen.
1) They kill the prince disturbingly easily. Only to go to court and find him there and smiling. He seems to have no interest in discussing things nor is he interested in killing the characters. That'll bake their noodles good and proper as they try to figure out what the fuck is going on.
2) They kill the prince only to have the city completely fall apart because of the way the prince put the place together. City infrastructure flies to pieces and each week therafter some vampire or other flips out in some pre-programmed fashion. Drawback: there's...no happy ending here. Since they killed him, there's no way to really fix things unless they can somehow get him raised/resurrected.
3) They get there only to dscover that he's already been destroyed (Possibly faked) and that the local law enforcement shows up just in time to catch the Would-Be Perps. A masterful frame job.
The Dwarf Mole
There was a 1st or 2nd ed module (I forget which). As a random encounter a dwarf with plate mail and a Dwarven Thrower hammer would just burrow from out of the ground, he would check the sun, check the wind and ask which way was east. He could not be bothered with introductions because he was in such a hurry. Then he would jump back into his hole like a Bugs Bunny cartoon never to be seen again. I ran the encounter exactly like that and the players were mildly amused and a bit confused.
Several sessions later they were in deep trouble. Several PCs were down and dying. The ones left standing were about to go down too. I had a thought. The ground burst open and out comes this dwarf in plate mail and a hammer. He looks at the enemy and says, "Please attack me all at once, it will save me time and I'm in a great hurry." The enemy was distracted by the dwarf and eventually the battle was won. The players loved that and thought I had been planning that encounter for a long time.
I did it a third time, but by then it got old, and the players started asking when is "I forgot his name gonna show?"
We all split up and went off to college soon after. I did not see any of them for five or six years. One holiday season we all got together again and played for nostalgia and old times sake. By this time D&D 3.0 had come out and we played by the new rules. They played the sons and daughters of their favorite old characters and the adventure began.
Somewhere around the 3rd or 4th encounter the ground started rumbling and a small dwarf, too young to grow a beard, wearing ill-fitting armor and holding a heavy hammer, came up out of the ground. He threw the hammer, killing the enemy, and then he called back into the hole "Got 'im Dad!" Then drops back into the hole.
It took the room 10 minutes to stop laughing.
Several sessions later they were in deep trouble. Several PCs were down and dying. The ones left standing were about to go down too. I had a thought. The ground burst open and out comes this dwarf in plate mail and a hammer. He looks at the enemy and says, "Please attack me all at once, it will save me time and I'm in a great hurry." The enemy was distracted by the dwarf and eventually the battle was won. The players loved that and thought I had been planning that encounter for a long time.
I did it a third time, but by then it got old, and the players started asking when is "I forgot his name gonna show?"
We all split up and went off to college soon after. I did not see any of them for five or six years. One holiday season we all got together again and played for nostalgia and old times sake. By this time D&D 3.0 had come out and we played by the new rules. They played the sons and daughters of their favorite old characters and the adventure began.
Somewhere around the 3rd or 4th encounter the ground started rumbling and a small dwarf, too young to grow a beard, wearing ill-fitting armor and holding a heavy hammer, came up out of the ground. He threw the hammer, killing the enemy, and then he called back into the hole "Got 'im Dad!" Then drops back into the hole.
It took the room 10 minutes to stop laughing.
Saved, Or Are We?
If the party is in a spot of unexpected trouble against a group of generic foes (ie, not directly related to the plot or major villains), a standard way of "saving" the party is to have a group of powerful NPCs show up and rescue them. But not only is this fairly implausible, but it also feels cheap.
However, a good twist on this is to have the party's Arch-Nemesis show up. He's been keeping tabs on them, he's gathered his henchmen and buffed them all to hell, and he's ready to take his revenge. The whole group teleports in, and sees the party getting attacked.
"DOGS! HOW DARE YOU STAND BETWEEN ME AND MY PREY!" and the villains starts laying into the people whupping on the party. That's when you pass the party leader, or hell, just anyone in the group, a note that says: "RUN FOOLS!"
Not only does this save the party, it's a great memorable experience, AND it's a way to show off the villain's tactics and forces available to him.
However, a good twist on this is to have the party's Arch-Nemesis show up. He's been keeping tabs on them, he's gathered his henchmen and buffed them all to hell, and he's ready to take his revenge. The whole group teleports in, and sees the party getting attacked.
"DOGS! HOW DARE YOU STAND BETWEEN ME AND MY PREY!" and the villains starts laying into the people whupping on the party. That's when you pass the party leader, or hell, just anyone in the group, a note that says: "RUN FOOLS!"
Not only does this save the party, it's a great memorable experience, AND it's a way to show off the villain's tactics and forces available to him.
Easter Eggs
For some nice bonus appreciation, throw in Easter Eggs that allude to iconic, recognizable figures/events.
For example, in a Firefly session, the party could find a shipment of goods/supplies, which include a recommendation that Sergeant Malcolm Reynolds be promoted to the rank of lieutenant in recognition of his heroism during the Battle of Serenity Valley.
By doing this, this also avoids the potential problem of having the party meet iconic figures, and immediately try fight them or influence them so as to change history.
Unfortunately, the lack of extensive Dragonlance/Forgotten Realms knowledge limits this in our games to all but the most major of people, such as:
• Dragonlance - Lord Soth, Tasslehoff Burrfoot, Sturm Brightblade, Raistlin Majere
• Forgotten Realms - Elaith Craulnober
• Ravenloft - Strahd
For example, in a Firefly session, the party could find a shipment of goods/supplies, which include a recommendation that Sergeant Malcolm Reynolds be promoted to the rank of lieutenant in recognition of his heroism during the Battle of Serenity Valley.
By doing this, this also avoids the potential problem of having the party meet iconic figures, and immediately try fight them or influence them so as to change history.
Unfortunately, the lack of extensive Dragonlance/Forgotten Realms knowledge limits this in our games to all but the most major of people, such as:
• Dragonlance - Lord Soth, Tasslehoff Burrfoot, Sturm Brightblade, Raistlin Majere
• Forgotten Realms - Elaith Craulnober
• Ravenloft - Strahd
Revised Shadow
As a normal shadow, except the shadow will try to grapple the character's shadow and merge with it. It will try to do this as an ambush, so that the character doesn't even notice.
A shadow that has successfully grappled a target can be dislodged by bright light (as of a daylight spell, or natural sunlight), a successful turn attempt, or by destroying it.
Strength Damage (Su): For each full hour a shadow is merged with a living creature's shadow, it deals 1d3 points of Strength damage to the living creature. A creature reduced to Strength 0 by a shadow dies. This is a negative energy effect.
Each time the character suffers this strength damage, remark on some physical changes...hair darkening, shadows around eyes, grey pallor to skin, etc. to give them a clue.
A shadow that has successfully grappled a target can be dislodged by bright light (as of a daylight spell, or natural sunlight), a successful turn attempt, or by destroying it.
Strength Damage (Su): For each full hour a shadow is merged with a living creature's shadow, it deals 1d3 points of Strength damage to the living creature. A creature reduced to Strength 0 by a shadow dies. This is a negative energy effect.
Each time the character suffers this strength damage, remark on some physical changes...hair darkening, shadows around eyes, grey pallor to skin, etc. to give them a clue.
The Legato
The obstacle/person that must be overcome before the party is able to confront the Big Bad. Usually the second in command, or at least the second greatest challenge to the party. In any case, the Dragon is LOYAL and is trusted enough by the Big Bad to be relied on as the last line of defence. (If they are not trustworthy, they are not the Legato, they are The Starscream).
Sometimes the Legato is actually smarter than the Big Bad, and/or stronger. But the Legato is willing to follow the Big Bad, who might have have political connections or leadership capabilities (the Legato is often a loner). The Legato might also be content as a second-in-command, and not dealing with the pressures of leadership.
The Big Bad might have some direct hold/power directly over the Legato, forcing him to obey and follow commands. In these cases, the hold had better be pretty good to use the Legato as a last line of defence, or else the Legato will find a way to go against his master in the end (often involving sacrificing himself to help the party and/or just to thwart the Big Bad.)
Will sometimes be the main opposition the party/hero will face during the adventure, while the true Big Bad works behind the scenes and only occasionally makes appearances. Hence, the Legato becomes more the primary villain than the real Big Bad (Legato is a prime example of this, as is Vader.)
Samples:
• Errtu is this to Akar Kessel.
• Legato (obviously) is this to Knives.
• Darth Vader is this to Emperor Palpatine.
• Transmetal Dinobot in Beast Wars is this to Megatron.
• Pasha Pook has TWO Legatos; Artemis Entreri and LaValle. Both are more powerful, but Pook is a better leader, has connections, and is willing to lead.
Sometimes the Legato is actually smarter than the Big Bad, and/or stronger. But the Legato is willing to follow the Big Bad, who might have have political connections or leadership capabilities (the Legato is often a loner). The Legato might also be content as a second-in-command, and not dealing with the pressures of leadership.
The Big Bad might have some direct hold/power directly over the Legato, forcing him to obey and follow commands. In these cases, the hold had better be pretty good to use the Legato as a last line of defence, or else the Legato will find a way to go against his master in the end (often involving sacrificing himself to help the party and/or just to thwart the Big Bad.)
Will sometimes be the main opposition the party/hero will face during the adventure, while the true Big Bad works behind the scenes and only occasionally makes appearances. Hence, the Legato becomes more the primary villain than the real Big Bad (Legato is a prime example of this, as is Vader.)
Samples:
• Errtu is this to Akar Kessel.
• Legato (obviously) is this to Knives.
• Darth Vader is this to Emperor Palpatine.
• Transmetal Dinobot in Beast Wars is this to Megatron.
• Pasha Pook has TWO Legatos; Artemis Entreri and LaValle. Both are more powerful, but Pook is a better leader, has connections, and is willing to lead.
Groundhog Day
A plot in which the party is caught in a time loop, doomed to repeat a period of time (often exactly one day) over and over, until something is corrected. Only the party realizes what is going on -- everyone and everything else else remembers nothing, and if not interfered with will do the exact same things every time, right down to dialogue.
Think Groundhog Day and Majora's Mask.
Great potential in D&D...ensieged city, the party is trapped inside. State of war and chaos, disaster, with many people and events happening at once. They have to, through trial and error, piece together what exactly is causing this battle, what will solve it, who the major players/events are, etc. Also good because it will allow DEATHS but not really, since the dead PC's will be back the next morning (ie The Dream).
Death = Loss of Memory?
If they died, they don't remember anything they have learned during the ordeal. But this could be a pain, as too many deaths would start clashing with unconscious metagame knowledge. Maybe it's better to just have them remember everything regardless of being dead/alive at the end.
Answer = NO
The party is approached by a man to hunt down some magical item (referred to hereafter as an orb) that will protect his city/kingdom & ensure the safety of its citizens forever.
Pretty routine, in fact, almost too routine. The party might even be suspicious of such an easy quest. Might have to have a good reason why the party is being hired, ie it's an old man, the guardian is too fierce, etc.
The dungeon crawl is relatively short and routine. There's nothing TOO crazy or too dangerous, but a good "warmup" for the real adventure to come. The guardian is challenging, but has a weakness or two that their employer advises them about beforehand. There shouldn't be any deaths. There will also be some hints dropped at something strange going on...nothing too obvious, but a slight feeling of there being more going on than appears. Examples - the dungeon being not dungeonish but instead very well kept up (too obvious?) or a door being locked on the wrong side. The party should retrieve the orb with relative ease, but it should still take a bit of time.
The doors locked on the wrong side can even be passed off as a "Random dungeon generator said so" remark, which will make the players not think anything of it...until later. Other puzzling clues can be wall murals, or maybe a recurring symbol can be an infinity sign or OUROBOROS sign.
The party brings the orb to the kingdom.
Here is where the plot can go in a number of different paths:
a) The employer has no idea about the curse, and thinks he's honestly saving the city. There is no secrecy, the party returns, they are celebrated, maybe a feast and such, and they are honored guests and go to sleep in nice, nice rooms. The time loop now starts, either because the orb is cursed, or because there is a mishap when "installing" it.
b) The employer knows exactly what the orb does, and wants to trap the city in the time loop as revenge. He has also fooled the King, and there is no secrecy about the orb. The employer leaves town during the festivities to escape the curse, but otherwise it is exactly the same as above.
c) The employer knows exactly what the orb does, and wants to trap the city in the time loop WITH HIM INSIDE so he can enjoy everyone's misery forever. This path doesn't require a huge celebration, but it's a possible outcome - lied to the King, celebrate, go to sleep, curse starts. OR, he could get the orb, and immediately smash it on the ground, confusing the party, and he will start laughing wildly and insanely and then run off. The party should be somewhat disturbed, but they will have gotten paid, so they will either rest (it being late) or leave the city. If they rest, they are awoken as normal, but if they leave the city...not sure how that would work. Maybe they just appear in the city square? Or where the orb was smashed?
Problem with leaving the city - upon waking up they would realize something was wrong, since they are somewhere other than where they went to sleep. This idea is out.
WHAT ENDS THE CURSE?
- The death of someone, or maybe preventing the death of someone
- Some kind of personal resolution with the employer (kinda lame)
- Maybe the orb is shattered each day, which starts the time loop...it has to be protected
On the First Run Through (before the party knows what is happening)
• The morning starts off with one PC (or maybe all the PCs) waking up suddenly, inexplicably. Moments later, something loud and memorable (a bell tower crashing down, a fireball exploding nearby, etc.)
• Present at least one dilemma between two choices, and their choice ends up being wrong or at least unfortunate (so next time they can choose the other option). Example: Tanis in The Dream choosing between Laurana and Kitiara; he hesitates and they both end up dying.
• Seemingly random occurrences that, if the party remembers them, they can tailor to their purposes. IE, a lightning strike will always occur at a certain time at a specific spot, so the party can use that however they wish.
• Toss out some innocent details (names, directions, klatu verada nicto type stuff) that, if they knew the day was repeating, would be invaluabe...but since they don't suspect that, it will be a sudden challenge to try to remember. Should end up like Cam's "tell me the names of your party members." To be really blunt, along the lines of being led through a locked door and saying "it's a good thing the keyword is Apple or else I'd never remember it" and then never seeing that lock again that day. The party would likely just ignore it...until they need to open the door the next day by themselves. Like that, only more subtle and not so prominently brought to the party's attention.
• In a fight in a ballroom/dining hall, have a missed attack or shot cut a rope holding up a chandelier, which sways and tips and crashes to the floor. The party can remember this and use it next time.
• Preventable mishap - someone (like a gnome with a new device) tries to do something and horribly fails and explodes/dies/etc. The party can prevent this the next day...if they want to.
• Have a useful NPC be on the verge of doing something helpful (providing information, casting a triggering spell, etc.) but are slain before they can finish the act. Next time the party can save them (if they remember). A nice example would be an assassin death striking the NPC, and the party can intercept/sacrifice themselves to save them.
• With or without direct input from the party, events happen around them. During the first day they may find themselves acting as spectators more than once.
• At the end, everyone dies in a Major Disaster. Maybe the city explodes, maybe the big demon is summoned and kills everyone, maybe the moon crashes down upon the city, but it ends in a total death. And then they wake up at the beginning of the day...
On the Second Run Through
• The next morning, the party status is exactly the same as when the ordeal begins, ie no gained gear is kept. But they still have the knowledge of what happens. They will most likely be puzzled and try to discuss it and figure things out...BUT they are interrupted by the loud and memorable event. Or maybe the loud event is actually what wakes them up, like a guard yelling at them, a la the alarm clock in Groundhog Day.
• In any fights, the enemies take the same actions as before (in general - if they were wounded on Day 1 and stopped to heal, but don't get wounded on Day 2, then obviously they don't stop to heal...)
• Start chaining, ie on Day 1, Bob dies before he can lead them to the prison. On Day 2, they save Bob and he leads them to the prison, but is then eaten by a dragon before he can say the unlocking phrase to get into the prison basement. On Day 3, they save Bob, then avoid the Dragon, but then Bob is attacked & killed by an escaped insane prisoner, etc.
Bonus: Just to screw with the players, slightly bend the rules. For instance, on Day 3 or 4, an item they find during that day unexpectedly comes back with them the next morning. This should confuse them, and if it's a key item, all the better!
Bonus: Have multiple possible branching storylines. For example, they can go with Bob the guard, or with Phil the Wizard, or with Sue the princess, OR go fight the invaders...etc. Drawback: an AWFUL lot to keep track of to accurately repeat on subsequent days.
Bonus: Maybe they are not the only ones caught in this curse? They could find someone who is actually doing something different each day, for whatever reason. Or maybe their goal is to find a person trapped in the curse.
Bonus: Have an NPC named Connors - "Phil? Phil Connors??"
Bonus: Have a mystery woven into the day's events, that the party can slowly decipher piece-by-piece.
Bonus: (if death = loss of memory) When the ordeal starts, have one or more party members know what is going on already, but the others don't because they have died on a previous day's attempt. Problems = the party members who already know what's going on, WON'T actually know what's going on other than the premise. Bad idea, now that I think about it more.
Bonus: Have NPCs named the same as the characters in the movie. Phil, Rita, Ned...maybe just the first two. Or not.
Bonus: Work in the Sealab 2021 Doppelgangers quote! Something about Queen Doppelpopolos.
Murphy: "Nice try, doppelganger!"
Quinn: "What? No! We're not doppelgangers!"
Murphy: "Save it for Queen Doppelpopolous!"
Carlos: "Sweet dreams, doppelgangers!"
DM NOTE: Maybe have pre-set "results" for NPCs, like dice rolls except more generic, like success, success, failure, success, failure...then if the party interrupts the actions of a certain NPC, their destiny is still somewhat preordained.
DM NOTE: Why are the PCs the only ones unaffected? Maybe because they were the ones who handled the orb? If the employer smashes the orb as in c) below, they were exposed to its magic, which would explain things. Or maybe it's because they aren't native to the city?
DM NOTE: Have some method of tracking in-game time, because certain events can be scheduled to happen at specific times.
--------- ANOTHER OPTION -----------
The party is hired to investigate a cursed city, or a city that has suddenly ceased all communication, or fetch an item reputed to be in this legendary ghost city, WHATEVER. They enter the city & discover it's full of people (where does the time loop start?) and also get trapped in the curse.
But why is this happening? Maybe once the party figures out the solution/cure, the city and all the people fade away? This could be the result of a mission too, ie get rid of / investigate the cursed city, maybe to obtain some artifact. Then after the city fades, the artifact is the only thing left. Along similar lines, is the city real but in purgatory? Do they pass on once the party resolves the curse? Or are they not even real, and it's just a magical effect/curse?
Think Groundhog Day and Majora's Mask.
Great potential in D&D...ensieged city, the party is trapped inside. State of war and chaos, disaster, with many people and events happening at once. They have to, through trial and error, piece together what exactly is causing this battle, what will solve it, who the major players/events are, etc. Also good because it will allow DEATHS but not really, since the dead PC's will be back the next morning (ie The Dream).
Death = Loss of Memory?
If they died, they don't remember anything they have learned during the ordeal. But this could be a pain, as too many deaths would start clashing with unconscious metagame knowledge. Maybe it's better to just have them remember everything regardless of being dead/alive at the end.
Answer = NO
The party is approached by a man to hunt down some magical item (referred to hereafter as an orb) that will protect his city/kingdom & ensure the safety of its citizens forever.
Pretty routine, in fact, almost too routine. The party might even be suspicious of such an easy quest. Might have to have a good reason why the party is being hired, ie it's an old man, the guardian is too fierce, etc.
The dungeon crawl is relatively short and routine. There's nothing TOO crazy or too dangerous, but a good "warmup" for the real adventure to come. The guardian is challenging, but has a weakness or two that their employer advises them about beforehand. There shouldn't be any deaths. There will also be some hints dropped at something strange going on...nothing too obvious, but a slight feeling of there being more going on than appears. Examples - the dungeon being not dungeonish but instead very well kept up (too obvious?) or a door being locked on the wrong side. The party should retrieve the orb with relative ease, but it should still take a bit of time.
The doors locked on the wrong side can even be passed off as a "Random dungeon generator said so" remark, which will make the players not think anything of it...until later. Other puzzling clues can be wall murals, or maybe a recurring symbol can be an infinity sign or OUROBOROS sign.
The party brings the orb to the kingdom.
Here is where the plot can go in a number of different paths:
a) The employer has no idea about the curse, and thinks he's honestly saving the city. There is no secrecy, the party returns, they are celebrated, maybe a feast and such, and they are honored guests and go to sleep in nice, nice rooms. The time loop now starts, either because the orb is cursed, or because there is a mishap when "installing" it.
b) The employer knows exactly what the orb does, and wants to trap the city in the time loop as revenge. He has also fooled the King, and there is no secrecy about the orb. The employer leaves town during the festivities to escape the curse, but otherwise it is exactly the same as above.
c) The employer knows exactly what the orb does, and wants to trap the city in the time loop WITH HIM INSIDE so he can enjoy everyone's misery forever. This path doesn't require a huge celebration, but it's a possible outcome - lied to the King, celebrate, go to sleep, curse starts. OR, he could get the orb, and immediately smash it on the ground, confusing the party, and he will start laughing wildly and insanely and then run off. The party should be somewhat disturbed, but they will have gotten paid, so they will either rest (it being late) or leave the city. If they rest, they are awoken as normal, but if they leave the city...not sure how that would work. Maybe they just appear in the city square? Or where the orb was smashed?
Problem with leaving the city - upon waking up they would realize something was wrong, since they are somewhere other than where they went to sleep. This idea is out.
WHAT ENDS THE CURSE?
- The death of someone, or maybe preventing the death of someone
- Some kind of personal resolution with the employer (kinda lame)
- Maybe the orb is shattered each day, which starts the time loop...it has to be protected
On the First Run Through (before the party knows what is happening)
• The morning starts off with one PC (or maybe all the PCs) waking up suddenly, inexplicably. Moments later, something loud and memorable (a bell tower crashing down, a fireball exploding nearby, etc.)
• Present at least one dilemma between two choices, and their choice ends up being wrong or at least unfortunate (so next time they can choose the other option). Example: Tanis in The Dream choosing between Laurana and Kitiara; he hesitates and they both end up dying.
• Seemingly random occurrences that, if the party remembers them, they can tailor to their purposes. IE, a lightning strike will always occur at a certain time at a specific spot, so the party can use that however they wish.
• Toss out some innocent details (names, directions, klatu verada nicto type stuff) that, if they knew the day was repeating, would be invaluabe...but since they don't suspect that, it will be a sudden challenge to try to remember. Should end up like Cam's "tell me the names of your party members." To be really blunt, along the lines of being led through a locked door and saying "it's a good thing the keyword is Apple or else I'd never remember it" and then never seeing that lock again that day. The party would likely just ignore it...until they need to open the door the next day by themselves. Like that, only more subtle and not so prominently brought to the party's attention.
• In a fight in a ballroom/dining hall, have a missed attack or shot cut a rope holding up a chandelier, which sways and tips and crashes to the floor. The party can remember this and use it next time.
• Preventable mishap - someone (like a gnome with a new device) tries to do something and horribly fails and explodes/dies/etc. The party can prevent this the next day...if they want to.
• Have a useful NPC be on the verge of doing something helpful (providing information, casting a triggering spell, etc.) but are slain before they can finish the act. Next time the party can save them (if they remember). A nice example would be an assassin death striking the NPC, and the party can intercept/sacrifice themselves to save them.
• With or without direct input from the party, events happen around them. During the first day they may find themselves acting as spectators more than once.
• At the end, everyone dies in a Major Disaster. Maybe the city explodes, maybe the big demon is summoned and kills everyone, maybe the moon crashes down upon the city, but it ends in a total death. And then they wake up at the beginning of the day...
On the Second Run Through
• The next morning, the party status is exactly the same as when the ordeal begins, ie no gained gear is kept. But they still have the knowledge of what happens. They will most likely be puzzled and try to discuss it and figure things out...BUT they are interrupted by the loud and memorable event. Or maybe the loud event is actually what wakes them up, like a guard yelling at them, a la the alarm clock in Groundhog Day.
• In any fights, the enemies take the same actions as before (in general - if they were wounded on Day 1 and stopped to heal, but don't get wounded on Day 2, then obviously they don't stop to heal...)
• Start chaining, ie on Day 1, Bob dies before he can lead them to the prison. On Day 2, they save Bob and he leads them to the prison, but is then eaten by a dragon before he can say the unlocking phrase to get into the prison basement. On Day 3, they save Bob, then avoid the Dragon, but then Bob is attacked & killed by an escaped insane prisoner, etc.
Bonus: Just to screw with the players, slightly bend the rules. For instance, on Day 3 or 4, an item they find during that day unexpectedly comes back with them the next morning. This should confuse them, and if it's a key item, all the better!
Bonus: Have multiple possible branching storylines. For example, they can go with Bob the guard, or with Phil the Wizard, or with Sue the princess, OR go fight the invaders...etc. Drawback: an AWFUL lot to keep track of to accurately repeat on subsequent days.
Bonus: Maybe they are not the only ones caught in this curse? They could find someone who is actually doing something different each day, for whatever reason. Or maybe their goal is to find a person trapped in the curse.
Bonus: Have an NPC named Connors - "Phil? Phil Connors??"
Bonus: Have a mystery woven into the day's events, that the party can slowly decipher piece-by-piece.
Bonus: (if death = loss of memory) When the ordeal starts, have one or more party members know what is going on already, but the others don't because they have died on a previous day's attempt. Problems = the party members who already know what's going on, WON'T actually know what's going on other than the premise. Bad idea, now that I think about it more.
Bonus: Have NPCs named the same as the characters in the movie. Phil, Rita, Ned...maybe just the first two. Or not.
Bonus: Work in the Sealab 2021 Doppelgangers quote! Something about Queen Doppelpopolos.
Murphy: "Nice try, doppelganger!"
Quinn: "What? No! We're not doppelgangers!"
Murphy: "Save it for Queen Doppelpopolous!"
Carlos: "Sweet dreams, doppelgangers!"
DM NOTE: Maybe have pre-set "results" for NPCs, like dice rolls except more generic, like success, success, failure, success, failure...then if the party interrupts the actions of a certain NPC, their destiny is still somewhat preordained.
DM NOTE: Why are the PCs the only ones unaffected? Maybe because they were the ones who handled the orb? If the employer smashes the orb as in c) below, they were exposed to its magic, which would explain things. Or maybe it's because they aren't native to the city?
DM NOTE: Have some method of tracking in-game time, because certain events can be scheduled to happen at specific times.
--------- ANOTHER OPTION -----------
The party is hired to investigate a cursed city, or a city that has suddenly ceased all communication, or fetch an item reputed to be in this legendary ghost city, WHATEVER. They enter the city & discover it's full of people (where does the time loop start?) and also get trapped in the curse.
But why is this happening? Maybe once the party figures out the solution/cure, the city and all the people fade away? This could be the result of a mission too, ie get rid of / investigate the cursed city, maybe to obtain some artifact. Then after the city fades, the artifact is the only thing left. Along similar lines, is the city real but in purgatory? Do they pass on once the party resolves the curse? Or are they not even real, and it's just a magical effect/curse?
Eviler Than Thou
When there is not one major villain, but TWO, and their plots often clash and intertwine. The two are usually drastically different, such as direct and violent vs clever schemer. They will also have vastly different moral/personal beliefs, which ensures that when they inevitably meet, they dislike each other. The heroes are caught in the middle and have to deal with the two different styles.
As the schemes begin to collide, the villains will look upon each other with disdain and disapproval, and even hatred. Despite t his, sometimes they will team up against the heroes, both intending to double-cross the other or turn the situation into their own benefit, or some other ulterior motive.
Sometimes one of them will begin a scheme so terrible that the other will be shocked and willingly work with the heroes to defeat the threat. If the threat is really, really bad (so bad that there's no way the terrible scheme villain could ever be considered anything BUT the major baddie after), either the scheming villain will die and the team-up villain becomes the primary antagonist, or the team-up villain becomes a good or neutral character and gives up his villainous ways, and the scheming guy remains the primary antagonist.
Samples:
• Magneto in X2, Stryker - after teaming up with the X-Men to defeat Stryker, Magneto seizes the opportunity to try to kill all the humans on earth using Stryker's plan. This is an example of a Terrible Scheme resulting in the team-up villain becoming the primary antagonist, at least for the remainder of the movie.
• In Beast Wars, Megatron and Tarantulas. Both have their own plots and distrust the other, but they do not outwardly fight, and they still fight together against the heroes. Megatron is more of a wiser, bigger-picture villain, while Tarantulas is more focused on personal gain/power.
As the schemes begin to collide, the villains will look upon each other with disdain and disapproval, and even hatred. Despite t his, sometimes they will team up against the heroes, both intending to double-cross the other or turn the situation into their own benefit, or some other ulterior motive.
Sometimes one of them will begin a scheme so terrible that the other will be shocked and willingly work with the heroes to defeat the threat. If the threat is really, really bad (so bad that there's no way the terrible scheme villain could ever be considered anything BUT the major baddie after), either the scheming villain will die and the team-up villain becomes the primary antagonist, or the team-up villain becomes a good or neutral character and gives up his villainous ways, and the scheming guy remains the primary antagonist.
Samples:
• Magneto in X2, Stryker - after teaming up with the X-Men to defeat Stryker, Magneto seizes the opportunity to try to kill all the humans on earth using Stryker's plan. This is an example of a Terrible Scheme resulting in the team-up villain becoming the primary antagonist, at least for the remainder of the movie.
• In Beast Wars, Megatron and Tarantulas. Both have their own plots and distrust the other, but they do not outwardly fight, and they still fight together against the heroes. Megatron is more of a wiser, bigger-picture villain, while Tarantulas is more focused on personal gain/power.
Squad of Four
Refers to a plot specifically tailored to use each character's special strengths. Should be done rarely, as happening too often makes it look like the villains are idiots and designing their defenses to match the hero team's strengths. If one of the characters has a strange or lame power, it can result in an absurd obstacle that makes no sense except to "use" said character's power.
Samples:
• Chouji, Neji, Kiba, and Shikamaru in the Naruto Squad arc storyline.
• Happens a lot in One Piece as well.
Has a lot of potential in a D&D game, where most characters will have drastically different strengths.
For a twist, have the same setup, but force each character to take on a different character's tailored challenge.
Samples:
• Chouji, Neji, Kiba, and Shikamaru in the Naruto Squad arc storyline.
• Happens a lot in One Piece as well.
Has a lot of potential in a D&D game, where most characters will have drastically different strengths.
For a twist, have the same setup, but force each character to take on a different character's tailored challenge.
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